Next Generation Farming
Nearly 300 million acres of U.S. farmland are expected to change hands in the next 20 years. Beyond the transfer of land, and the often-complex succession planning process, investing in the next generation involves the transfer of skills and knowledge. Now’s the time to cultivate multigenerational success through asset, resource and financial stewardship.
At MVP Dairy, two fourth-generation farm families with more than 100 years of farming history have come together to build a system where every decision is made with the next generation in mind.
While others sign letters of intent for college athletics or academic programs, one 18-year-old Evansville, Ind., senior made a commitment to join his dad on the farm, after gun violence nearly changed their legacy forever.
Though fire reduced her grandparent’s milking parlor to rubble, the tragedy only strengthened Makenna Skiff’s resolve to rebuild and carry on the dairy legacy her grandparents started more than 50 years ago.
Rena Striegel says successful farm transitions don’t start at retirement; they begin years earlier. The Transition Point president shares why early conversations can help preserve family farms and reduce succession stress.
Family partnership, peer groups and open-door networking have shaped Jake Drozd’s belief that farmers get better together.
A true family affair, the Rathjens combine agronomy, management and teamwork into a winning formula that pushes seeds to their biological limits and delivers record-breaking yields.
Applying a keen sense of business and creating non-farm assets, Tim Nuss unlocks a flywheel effect to propel the Nuss Farms forward.
Entrants are judged on entrepreneurial originality, financial and business progress and industry or community leadership.